Big Fat Controversies

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

This is probably the worst week ever for anyone who's overly sensitive about their weight. First up was a report on the REAL reason why plus-sized clothing isn't more readily available: design schools don't want to allocate the resources to teach students how to design for a larger frame. Now, if you're REALLY sensitive, you probably shouldn't read the story about a Marie Claire writer who had bigtime diarrhea of the mouth/pen/keyboard and wrote an article in which she ranted about how much fat people disgust her?and the ensuing shitstorm it unleashed, and then the ensuing, obligatory, "I'm not really sorry but I'm being forced to say something vaguely conciliatory" apology. Wow, that last one just makes us feel bad for people with feelings, in general. But let's end this on a happy note: Full Figured Fashion Week is coming up this weekend, with fashion shows, shopping, and seminars on getting ahead in plus-sized design, retail and modeling. And yup, we'll be covering it.
· The Plus-Size Mystery in Women's Fashion [LA TImes]
· What Was Marie Claire Thinking With This "Fatties" Piece? [Jezebel]
· Full Figured Fashion Week [Official Site[